The conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the laureate of international contests of Von Karajan Foundation (West Berlin), V. Talikh (Prague) and Min-On (Tokyo) NIKOLAY ALEXEEV started his musical education at Glinka Leningrad choir school. Later he graduated from Leningrad conservatory, where he majored in choir conducting in the class of A. Mikhailov and opera and symphony conducting in the class of M. Jansons.

The symbolic for his artistic biography, became his residency with Yuri Temirkanov his advisor, leading Kirovsky (Mariinsky) theater at that time. Before the beginning of the collaboration of this conductor with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, his work was extremely intense. Back then the conductor led, sometimes simultaneously, one of the oldest in the Baltic, Estonian national symphony orchestra, Zagreb and Ulianovsk philharmonic orchestras (the latter, for seventeen years). His efforts, in 1998 helped to create Moscow radio and television symphony orchestra.

His alliance of 2000 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra has not limited the scope of his activity. He continues leading the Estonian orchestra, there begins the new artistic collaboration with Bolshoy theater, where Alexeev participated in the new production of Snow Maiden of Rimsky-Korsakov and for the first time presented to Moscow audience, the Gurrelieder, of Schoenberg.

Equally intense is his activity in St. Petersburg philharmonia concert programs. Working with St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, he finds his innate conductor’s interest towards the concert performances of operas and ballets. They include, above all, Stravinsky’s Sacred Spring, Petrushka, Jeu de Cartes, Firebird, Mavra – which constitute one of the main repertoire directions of Alexeev. He aspires to bring back to the stage the music usually overlooked by conductors. Thus, his joint project with V. Vasiliev, the play to the music of Shostakovich "Of the priest and his worker Balda", became one of the most memorable events of the last, VII Arts Square festival. Conducted by the artist were the premieres of modern composers - Thirteenth symphony of Slonimsky, Dante-symphony of Tischenko, Concerto cantabile of Schedrin (first performance in St. Petersburg).

In this season, the Grand hall of the Philharmonia will hear the new orchestra piece by Korolev, The Figure of Speech. And if Yuri Temirkanov inaugurates each season of the famous St. Petersburg orchestra, its new year concert – a season’s equator of sorts – traditionally takes place conducted by the merited artist of Russia, Nikolay Alexeev.